The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

III. Jerome-Last Comprehensive Witness Before the Eclipse

JEROME (c. 340-420), conspicuous doctor of the Latin church, takes us to both West and East. His career is so interwoven with the momentous times through which the world was then passing that a panoramic view of his life is indispensable in order to grasp the significance of his prophetic expositions, for they spring from times and events that were remaking the world and the church. Born of wealthy Christian parents at Strido, in Pannonia, Jerome went to Rome as a youth to complete his classical education. On Sundays, in the company of other young Christians, he visited the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs, which profoundly impressed him. He was baptized by Pope Liberius about 360. PFF1 436.5

After his stay of several years in Rome, he journeyed to eastern Gaul, where he is believed to have been engaged in theological studies. Next came a stay of several months, or possibly years, at Aquileia, where he was associated with many Christians. About 373, with some of these Christian friends, Jerome set out on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. After visiting the scenes of Paul’s tours, and passing through a dangerous illness, he resolutely turned from the pagan classics to the Sacred Scriptures, and went into the desert of Chalcis, near Antioch, for five years of austere study (374-379), which included the study of Hebrew under a converted Jew. In 379 he was ordained a presbyter at Antioch, whence he went to Constantinople, and tried to perfect himself in Greek. His translating and other literary work continued. In 382 Jerome was called to Rome, and as a learned man helped Pope Damasus during an investigation concerning a dispute at Antioch. PFF1 437.1

Also, at the suggestion of Damasus, Jerome undertook a revision of the “Old Latin” translation of the Bible. He first translated the Gospels, then the remaining books of the New Testament, next the Psalter, and then the historical, prophetic, and poetic books. The result of all this was the Latin translation of the Scriptures, which later came to be called the Vulgate, completed between 382 and 404. The Prefaces to the several books are in some cases very valuable. Jerome owes his high place in history chiefly to his revisions and translations of the Bible. PFF1 437.2

Admired and courted for his brilliance and learning, he left Rome in disgust, after the death of Damasus, to assume a rigorous monastic life in Palestine. Here he began to write his commentaries on the books of Scripture, taking Hebrew lessons at night from a converted Jew. He toured Palestine, visiting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the holy places of Galilee. Making his headquarters at Bethlehem for the next thirty-four years (386-420), he there established convents and a monastery. At Bethlehem, the scene of his most conspicuous activity, he wrote his many commentaries. His commentaries cover Genesis, the major and minor prophets, Ecclesiastes, Job, some of the psalms, and the epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, and Philemon. For years he lived “pen in hand,” engaged day and night in reading or writing. ⁹ PFF1 437.3

439 PFF1 438.1

Picture 1: JAROME-LAST OF THE EARLY PROPHETIC EXPOSITORS
Camera concept of Jerome, writer of last great commentry on Daniel, in fifth century, before the revolutionary Augustinian views swept the field best knows as translator of the Latin vulgate, exercising tremendous influence on the course of the Christian church in its Catholic form his was an influence that cannot be ingored and must not be underestimated.
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Jerome’s fame increasing, he had visitors from all parts of the world, including Sulpicius Severus, whose views on prophecy may have influenced him. Then came the Gothic incursions, and his violent controversies over Origenism. PFF1 439.1

Next followed the Gothic invasion of Italy, with the sack of Rome under Alaric, in 410. At the time Jerome was in Bethlehem, where he had but recently finished his commentary on Daniel, and was laboring on Isaiah and Jeremiah. Stunned by the melancholy news concerning the empire, he bared his heart relative to the times in his Preface to Ezekiel, and in his memorial sketch concerning Marcella. ¹⁰ And upon all this wei e superimposed the fresh inroads of the Huns in Syria. It was under these conditions that his commentary on Ezekiel was finished. Worn out, Jerome was carried off by a fever in 420. First buried in Jerusalem, his remains were afterward transferred to Rome. PFF1 439.2

1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JEROME PERIOD. (340 TO 420.)

Jerome’s life spanned the reigns of five emperors in the period of Rome’s early breakup, reaching the crisis hour with the sack of Rome. There were: Julian (361-363), Valens (364-378), Valentinian I (364-375), Gratian (373-383), and Theodosius (379-395) and his sons—thus covering the establishment at “orthodox” Christianity in the empire. Jerome was one of the early popularizers of asceticism and monasticism in the West. His Latin Vulgate was the Bible of Western civilization until the Reformation, and was declared the standard Bible of the Roman church by decree of the Council of Trent, ¹¹ which is in force today. Although the Bible with its prophecies was, by Jerome, crowded increasingly forward in the Latin, it was later correspondingly pushed away from the people when Latin ceased to be the language of the common people. And with this, traditionalism came increasingly to the forefront. Thus the Catholic Church’s insistence on retaining the Latin Vulgate as the only authorized translation does little honor to Jerome, for it defeats the translator’s purpose, which was to present the Bible in the vernacular for his day. PFF1 439.3

Born in the troubled times following Constantine’s death in 337, Jerome was a student during the emperor Julian’s reign. His later life at Jerusalem (386-420) witnessed first the division of the empire between the sons of Theodosius, and then the earlier partitioning by the barbarians—though the final extinction of the Western Empire did not come for a half century thereafter. PFF1 440.1

Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel, dedicated in 407, was expressly written to offset the criticisms of Porphyry (231-301), ¹² who had maintained that the predictions of Daniel related to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees, and was written near that date, though in future-tense form, and had thus seemed to threaten one of the chief supports of Christianity. Jerome also distinguished between the original Septuagint translation of Daniel and Theodotion’s later substitution ¹³ Jerome’s exposition of Daniel has been styled “the ultimate”—that is, that he left nothing to his successors but to comment upon his commentary. His exposition of Daniel was later incorporated into the Glossa Ordinaria of Walafrid Strabo, the standard marginal notes of medieval Latin Bibles. PFF1 440.2

Though the great apostasy in the church was far advanced in Jerome’s day, some of the older interpretations of prophecy still lingered. The fact that the works of Hippolytus and Irenaeus were favorite companions in his library ¹⁴ throws light on Jerome’s interpretation of prophecy. He clearly declared that a new phase of prophecy was fulfilling before his uneasy eyes—the breakup of Rome. PFF1 440.3

However, to him the Apocalypse was a book of mysteries, ¹⁵ and he warned against an undue license of fancy. Jerome was a militant antimillenarian; the material or temporal views advocated by some gave occasion for his ridicule. It is said that in Jerome’s voluminous works the seeds of virtually every papal error are found embedded—saint and martyr worship, veneration of relics, penance, primacy of the bishop of Rome, and so forth. But he opposed the mysticizing principles of Origen—calling Origen a heretic on the resurrection, the condition of souls, and the devil’s repentance ¹⁶ at the very time the Papacy was beginning to expound the spiritual reign of the saints as the reign of the church PFF1 440.4

It is unfortunate that Jerome’s opposition to Origen was linked to an extensive and acrimonious controversy that centered on the translation of Origen’s First Principles into Latin. And the haste with which Jerome scurried for cover and the bitterness with which he attacked those—such as Rufinus and Vigilantius ¹⁷ who called attention to the influence of Origen on his earlier utterances, were unworthy of a man of his position. PFF1 441.1

So, despite advancing apostasy and receding understanding of the prophecies, Jerome’s voice still rang out on the historic fundamentals of the prophetic outline—about the last comprehensive testimony in the last stand of the earlier prophetic interpretation springing from the apostolic age. Such is Jerome’s place in the history of prophetic interpretation. We now turn to his expositions. PFF1 441.2

2. ROME THE FOURTH KINGDOM OF PROPHETIC LINE

Reiterating clearly and positively the witness of four centuries since the cross, Jerome names the four prophetic kingdoms symbolized in Daniel 2—with Rome as the fourth-in refutation of the frontal attack by Porphyry. PFF1 442.1

“He [Daniel] says, O king, thou art the head of gold. By which it is shown first that the kingdom of Babylon is compared to the most precious gold. PFF1 442.2

“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, of silver, namely [the kingdom] of the Medes and Persians, which has the likeness of silver, less than the previous one, and greater than the following one. PFF1 442.3

“And a third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over the whole world signifies Alexander, and the kingdom of the Macedonians, and of the successors of Alexander, which is rightly spoken of as brass: for among all the metals brass is more resounding, and it rings more clearly, and its sound is carried far and wide ... PFF1 442.4

“And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron; as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things, so does it break in pieces and bruise all these, etc. Moreover the fourth kingdom, which plainly pertains to the Romans, is the iron which breaks in pieces and subdues all. But its feet and toes are partly of iron and partly of clay, which at this time is most plainly attested.” ¹⁸ PFF1 442.5

Likewise in Daniel 7 the four beasts are similarly identified as the same kingdoms, with the four divisions of the third kingdom, of the Macedonians, given as those of Ptolemy, Seleucus, Philip, and Antigonus. Jerome then writes: PFF1 442.6

“The fourth [kingdom] which holds the city of the world, is the empire of the Romans, ... he compared the Roman kingdom to no [specific] beast; unless perchance the word was left unspoken in order that he might make the beast most terrible, so that whatever we think of as more savage among beasts, we may understand this of the Romans.” ¹⁹ PFF1 442.7

3. INTERMINGLING OF CLAY WITH IRON PRESENT DEVELOPMENT

Most significant of all is Jerome’s declaration of the partitioning of the Roman feet into fragments, as “most mani festly acknowledged” at that very time! A new epoch in prophetic fulfillment is thus declared. And in this announcement of the current fulfillment, Jerome was not alone, as has been noted. PFF1 442.8

“Moreover the fourth kingdom, which plainly pertains to the Romans, is the iron which breaks in pieces and subdues all things. But its feet and toes are partly of iron and partly of clay, which at this time is most plainly attested. For just as in its beginning nothing was stronger and more unyielding than the Roman Empire, so at the end of affairs nothing weaker.” ²⁰ PFF1 443.1

This passage in his commentary on Daniel seems to have brought Jerome into danger of public accusation, being interpreted as a treasonable utterance by the Vandal Stilicho, whose assassination, however, occurred before the matter could be brought to trial ²¹ PFF1 443.2

4. CHRIST THE STONE TO FILL THE EARTH

Controverting Porphyry’s claim that the stone of Daniel 2 is literal Israel, Jerome applies it to Christ after all these kingdoms have been destroyed. PFF1 443.3

“However, in the end of all these kingdoms, of gold, of silver, of brass and of iron, a stone was cut out, the Lord and Saviour, without hands, that is, apart from cohabitation and human seed, from the womb of a virgin, and after all kingdoms had been destroyed, it became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” ²² PFF1 443.4

5. THE PROPHESIED ANTICHRIST IS NEAR

Jerome sees the Antichrist as coming in the near future. Just observe PFF1 443.5

“But what am I doing? Whilst I talk about the cargo, the vessel itself founders. He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ ‘shall consume with the spirit of His mouth.’” ²³ PFF1 443.6

Jerome plainly declares, “Now also the mystery of iniquity is working,” ²⁴ though he seemingly was blind to the definite drift away from the center in his own concepts and practices. PFF1 443.7

6. CANNOT APPEAR TILL ROME’S DESTRUCTION

After referring to undivided Rome as the subject of Paul’s reminder to the Thessalonians of his oral exposition of the restrainer of the coming Antichrist, Jerome continues: PFF1 443.8

“He [Paul] shows that that which restrains is the Roman empire; for unless it shall have been destroyed, and taken out of the midst, according to the prophet Daniel, Antichrist will not come before that. If he had chosen to say this openly, he would have foolishly aroused a frenzy of persecution against the Christians; and then against the growing church.” ²⁵ PFF1 444.1

Jerome explains elsewhere why Rome is not openly mentioned in the prophecy: PFF1 444.2

“And now you know what restrains, that he might be revealed in his time; that is, you know very well what is the reason why the Antichrist does not come immediately. Nor does he [Paul] wish to say openly that the Roman empire must be destroyed, because those who rule think [it] eternal. Whence, according to the Apocalypse of John, on the brow of the purple-clad harlot is written a name of blasphemy, that is, of Rome eternal. For if he had openly and boldly said, ‘Antichrist will not come unless the Roman empire is first destroyed,’ a just cause of persecution then would have seemed to arise in the early church.” ²⁶ PFF1 444.3

7. APPEARS IN CHURCH BEFORE SECOND ADVENT

Disclosing his own view that the “temple” in which Antichrist is to sit is not the Jewish temple but the church, Jerome declares the advent will not occur until Antichrist has appeared, and his emergence can only follow the breakup of the empire. PFF1 444.4

“And [Antichrist] may sit in the temple of God, either Jerusalem (as some think) or in the church (as we more truly think), showing himself as if he himself were Christ, and the Son of God. Unless, he says, the Roman empire has been previously desolated and Antichrist has preceded him, Christ will not come; who therefore will so come that he may destroy Antichrist. You remember, he says, that when I was with you I told you by word of mouth these very things which I now write in an epistle; and I told you that Christ would not come unless Antichrist had come before. ²⁷ PFF1 444.5

And having appeared, Jerome continues, Antichrist will be cut off and brought to nought by the glorious second advent, “as the darkness is put to flight at the coming of the sun.” ²⁸ PFF1 444.6

8. EXTENT OF ROMAN WORLD’S DISINTEGRATION

The breakup of Rome was a matter of deepest concern to Jerome. PFF1 445.1

“I shudder when I think of the catastrophes of our time [396]. For twenty years and more the blood of Romans has been shed daily between Constantinople and the Julian Alps. Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dardania, Dacia, Thcssaly, Achaia, Epirus, Dalmatia, the Pannonias—each and all of these have been sacked and pillaged and plundered by Goths and Sarmatians, Quades and Alans, Huns and Vandals and Marchmen. How many of God’s matrons and virgins, virtuous and noble ladies, have been made the sport of these brutes! Bishops have been made captive, priests and those in minor orders have been put to death. Churches have been overthrown, horses have been stalled by the altars of Christ, the relics of martyrs have been dug up.... The Roman world is falling: yet we hold up our heads instead of bowing them.” ²⁹ PFF1 445.2

9. ROME’S FALL “DECAPITATION” OF EMPIRE

Jerome’s grief over the fall of the head city of the empire is graphically recited. PFF1 445.3

“The siege of Rome, and the falling asleep of many of my brethren and sisters [was announced]. I was so stupefied and dismayed that day and night I could think of nothing but the welfare of the community; it seemed as though I was sharing the captivity of the saints, and I could not open my lips until I knew something more definite; and all the while full of anxiety, I was wavering between hope and despair, and was torturing myself with the misfortunes of other people. But when the bright light of all the world was put out, or, rather, when the Roman Empire was decapitated, and, to speak more correctly, the whole world perished in one city, ‘I became dumb and humbled myself.’” ³⁰ PFF1 445.4

10. BARBARIC DIVIDERS OF ROME NAMED

Jerome lists Rome’s dividers at that time, and bares his anxiety” over the imminent Antichrist: PFF1 445.5

“He that letteth is taken out of the way, and yet we do not realize that Antichrist is near. Yes, Antichrist is near whom the Lord Jesus Christ ‘shall consume with the spirit of His mouth.’... Savage tribes in countless numbers have overrun all parts of Gaul. The whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, between the Rhine and the Ocean, has been laid waste by hordes of Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Alans, Gepids, Herules, Saxons, Bergundians, Allemanni, and—alas for the commonweal!—even Pannonians. For ‘Assur also is joined with them.’ The once noble city of Moguntiacum [now Maintz] has been captured and destroyed. In its church many thousands have been massacred. The people of Vangium [now Worms] after standing a long siege have been extirpated. The powerful city of Rheims, the Ambiani, the Altrebatae, the Belgians in the skirts of the world, Tournay, Spires, and Strasburg have fallen to Germany: while the provinces of Aquitaine and of the Nine Nations, of Lyons and of Narbonne are with the exception of a few cities one universal scene of desolation.” ³¹ PFF1 445.6

11. LITTLE HORN ANTICHRIST, NOT ANTIOCHUS

Stoutly refuting Porphyry’s application of the Little Horn to Antiochus, Jerome gives the remarkable assurance that “all ecclesiastical writers” of the past agree in expecting Rome’s division into ten kingdoms before the Little Horn can appear. He places the three uprooted horns in Africa. PFF1 446.1

“Porphyry places the two latter beasts, representing the Macedonians and the Romans, in the one kingdom of the Macedonians, and divides it: he wishes the leopard to be understood as Alexander himself; the beast which is different from the other beasts, to be four successors of Alexander, and thereafter he enumerates ten kings even to Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes.... In vain Porphyry surmises that the little horn, which arose after the ten horns, is Antiochus Epiphanes, and of the ten horns three were rooted up: Ptolemy the sixth surnamed Philometor, Ptolemy Euergetes the seventh, and Artaxerxes king of Armenia, whose forefathers died much before Antiochus was born. We indeed know that Antiochus really fought against Artaxerxes, but that the latter remained in his former kingdom. Therefore we say what all ecclesiastical writers have handed down: that in the end of the world, when the kingdom of the Romans must be destroyed, there will be ten kings who divide the Roman world among themselves, and the eleventh will be raised up, a little king, who will overcome three kings of the ten kings, that is, the king of the Egyptians, and of Africa and of Ethiopia, as we shall point out more plainly in what follows.” ³² PFF1 446.2

12. JUDGMENT FOLLOWS LITTLE HORN’S REIGN

Describing at considerable length the judgment scene of Daniel 7:9 and related texts, Jerome parallels similar scenes in the Apocalypse and Ezekiel, with God as judge, and the books of judgment involved. ³³ PFF1 446.3

13. JUDGMENT Is FOLLOWED BY SECOND ADVENT

Jerome sees the judgment sent because of Antichrist’s pride and blasphemy, for “the Roman kingdom will be destroyed, because that horn spake great things.” “In the one Roman kingdom,” he says, “all the kingdoms must be destroyed at one time. He expects this to herald the advent, for there will never be an earthly kingdom, but the fellowship of the saints, and the coming of the triumphant Son of God in the clouds of heaven.” For the advent he cites the stone in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and Acts 1:9—II. ³⁴ PFF1 447.1

14. ANTICHRIST WARS THREE AND A HALF YEARS

He interprets the time, times, and half as the time of Antichrist, and the period is regarded as literal years. The future is still foreshortened to his gaze, for he cannot imagine the end of the world being many centuries away; he expects the Antichrist to come soon and the final events to follow immediately. PFF1 447.2

“And he shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think that he is able to change times and laws. For Antichrist shall make war against the saints, and shall overcome them, and he will lift himself up to such a degree of pride that he will attempt to change the laws of God and the sacred rites, and will exalt himself above all that is called God, making all religion subject to his power. PFF1 447.3

“And they shall be given into his hand even to a time and times and half a time. A time signifies a year. Times, according to the peculiarity of the Hebrew diction, who themselves have a dual number, prefigures two years. Furthermore a half of a time is six months, during which the saints must be surrendered to the power of Antichrist.” ³⁵ PFF1 447.4

15. SAINTS HAVE No EARTHLY KINGDOM

Against the chiliasts Jerome sharply contends: PFF1 447.5

“The four kingdoms, of which we have spoken above, were earthly. For all that which is of the earth, shall return to the earth. However, the saints will never have an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly. Then let the story of the thousand years cease.” ³⁶ PFF1 447.6

16. ANTIMILLENARIAN, BUT HOLDS SIX-THOUSAND-YEAR THEORY

Jerome’s view of the millennium was somewhat of a figurative character, and not well defined. He says more against the millenarian “dreams” of “the circumcision and our Judaizers,” than of his own view on this point. Possibly his reticence is explained by this significant remark: PFF1 448.1

“If we accept [the Apocalypse] literally, [we] must Judaize; if we treat it spiritually, as it is written, we shall seem to go against the opinions of many of the ancients: of the Latins, Tertullian, Victorinus, Lactantius; of the Greeks, that I might pass by the rest, I shall make mention only of Irenaeus.” ³⁷ PFF1 448.2

Jerome maintains the old idea of the six-thousand-year duration of the world. He expects this to be followed by a seventh thousand, during which will be reinstituted “true Sabbath keeping and the purity of circumcision”—presumably “spiritual,” but unexplained. After the seventh follows the eighth thousand years, during which the blessed will receive the reward for their good deeds. ³⁸ PFF1 448.3

17. PERSIAN RAM, GRECIAN GOAT, AND GREAT HORN

Jerome interprets Cyrus of Persia as the higher of the two horns of the Medo-Persian ram of Daniel 8:3, and the hairy goat as Grecia smiting Persia. ³⁹ Alexander is the great horn. Then he names Alexander’s half brother Philip and three of the generals, as the four successors of Alexander’s empire. ⁴⁰ PFF1 448.4

18. Daniel 11 PORTRAYS ANTICHRIST IN LAST TIME

Confuting Porphyry’s attempt to identify Antiochus Epiphanes in the latter portion of Daniel 11, Jerome reveals his own position. While conceding that Antiochus may be considered a type of Antichrist, he contends, “But our [people] think that all these things are prophesied of Antichrist who will be in the last time.” ⁴¹ With others, Jerome surmises that he will arise from the Jews and come from Babylon, and mentions the belief of “many of ours” that he will be Nero. ⁴² PFF1 448.5

19. BABYLON Is INTERPRETED AS ROME

Since, he says, according to the Septuagint it is written “Daughter of Babylon,” it is permissible that— PFF1 449.1

“they interpret it not indeed Babylon itself, but the Roman city, which in the Apocalypse of John and in the epistle of Peter is specifically named Babylon, and all those things which are spoken of in relation to Babylon testify that they bear upon her ruin, against whom a sign and the justice of God must be invoked; so that after Zion, that is, the church, has been saved, she shall be eternally destroyed.” ⁴³ PFF1 449.2

He speaks of dwelling in Rome, and adds: PFF1 449.3

“When I dwelt in Babylon, and was an inhabitant of the purple-clad harlot, and lived after the manner of the Quirites, I wished to say something about the Holy Spirit, and to dedicate the little work begun to the pontiff of that city.” ⁴⁴ PFF1 449.4

20. TWO ADVENTS CONTRASTED: THE FIRST IN LOWLINESS, THE SECOND IN GLORY

Jerome’s teaching on the advent is clear and simple: PFF1 449.5

“Moreover, that there are two comings of the Lord Saviour, both all the books of the prophets, and the faith of the evangelists, teach: that first he will come in lowliness, and afterward he will come in glory, the Lord Himself bearing witness as to the things which are to come before the end of the world.” ⁴⁵ PFF1 449.6

21. SEES YEAR-DAY PRINCIPLE IN EZEKIEL

Attention should be called to an important time principle that of the year-day reckoning-used by Jerome, but not applied to other time periods. In his exposition of Ezekiel 4:6 he attempts to outline the 390 years of the captivity of the Israelites, represented by Ezekiel’s lying on his left side, beginning with Pekah and ending with the fortieth year of Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he supposes to be the Ahasuerus of Esther. He makes the forty days during which Ezekiel had to lie on his right side refer to forty years, beginning with the first year of Jechoniah and ending with the first year of Cyrus, king of the Persians. ⁴⁶ PFF1 449.7

Jerome apparently acquiesces in the application of the year-day principle to the seventy weeks as made by others whom he quotes at great length; but he himself refuses to set forth an interpretation of the seventy weeks, for “it is dangerous to judge concerning the opinions of the masters of the church.” ⁴⁷ He thereupon gives the interpretations of Africanus, Eusebius, Hippolytus, Apollinaris of Laodicea, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and “the Hebrews,” so that the reader may choose for himself. PFF1 450.1

Such is the remarkable witness of the last great expounder of the Historical School of interpretation of the early church. Following Jerome comes the great collapse, as other concepts take over. These soon fill the picture. PFF1 450.2